Drop-in Classes

Art

I believe art ignites the mind and soul, proving itself the perfect platform to explore those creative nuggets swirling around one's mind and itching to be unleashed.

We're all artists... whether your experiences, good, bad or indifferent have shaped your current thoughts about taking part in this creative class, rest assured your journey will be one of calm understanding, with no pressure to deliver the perfect drawing or painting.

In fact, you'll find yourself in a pressure free, safe space where you can practise and hone your artistic skills moving at your own pace with encouragement galore.

Creative Writing

Create at Open Book is a safe and friendly space to explore and develop interests in creative writing. Students will be introduced to a different theme each week, working collaboratively with the opportunity to share written work with their peers.

Extended Project Qualifications (EPQ)

A research and communication skills group which helps you to gain a level three qualification, and a possible stepping stone to higher education. You will develop independent learning skills, time management, self-motivation and critical thinking.

The EPQ allows you to build your own course:
• Decide what you want to know about
• Design a plan to find it out
• Work out the skills you have
• Develop the skills you need
• Compare your ideas with other experts
• Report your findings
• Reflect on your learning.

You can submit creative and practical work as well as research and discovery.

Digital Skills

Whatever your level of experience, from complete beginner upwards. Drop in for one-to-one help and advice about digital technologies and getting the best out of your machines for support with study, or extra-curricular. We will work out how to help you!

Music Lessons

Music lessons at Open Book offer an inclusive and dynamic space for creative expression through music. Designed for all skill levels, these sessions explore music theory, analysis, and instrumental knowledge, helping participants develop a deeper understanding of music in an engaging and supportive environment. Whether learning to read notation, analyzing different genres, or experimenting with instruments, students are encouraged to express themselves musically while gaining practical skills. Led by experienced tutor, the lessons foster confidence, collaboration, and a passion for music, making them a valuable experience for anyone looking to explore their musical potential.

Social Anthropology

We have group discussions about how the research methods of anthropology today, can be used to understand why people behave the way they do in society. To understand the causes of things, we draw from History, Politics, Economics, Law, Climate change, Religion, Philosophy, psychology, Literature, Art and Architecture . So, join us to talk about the past, the present, and the future in our world that will be radically altered by the new technological revolution of Artificial Intelligence.

Philosophy

Creative Writing

Create at Open Book is a safe and friendly space to explore and develop interests in creative writing. Students will be introduced to a different theme each week, working collaboratively with the opportunity to share written work with their peers.

Introduction to Study/Open Book

This involves an introduction to the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Help will be given with how to write an academic essay, help with academic research and referencing resulting in a 5,000-word extended essay. Discussions will also take place regarding each essay throughout each class.

Creative Writing

This class aims to tease out the poet or author in all of us. The session begins with images, written prompts, music and film to spark the imagination, the second part of the classis spent looking at authors and poets chosen by the group and used as motivation to write, be it a story or a poem.

We study a diverse group of names from Maya Angelou to Edna O’Brien, Charles Dickens to Langston Hughes. No experience necessary to joining this informal, and supportive group of writers.

Contact Open Book for meeting location and passcode at openbook@gold.ac.uk.

Working Class Histories

This weekly online class explores the histories of working-class people across the globe.  Our focus is on the billions of ordinary people, their stories, their struggles and their achievements.

The format of the class is that we deliver a talk and presentation as a starting point for discussion and analysis.

Contact Open Book for meeting location and passcode at openbook@gold.ac.uk.

10-Minute Plays

The aim of this group was initially to write a ten-minute play, however we also look at anything connected to theatre. We have studied the history of theatre, different genres of theatre from ‘Poor Theatre’ to ‘Epic theatre’, Shakespeare’s plays to John Sullivan’s ‘Only Fools and Horses’ scripts. Subjects covered include directors, playwrights, staging and much more.

We go back to basics by looking at scripts and dialogue every few months.

Each week students are given a prompt for homework, the following week they have the opportunity to hear their work read aloud by other members of the group. No experience necessary.

Contact Open Book for meeting location and passcode at openbook@gold.ac.uk.

Art History – Portraiture

The portrait is not simply a record of someone’s features it can tell us a great deal about that person and the time in which they lived. This weekly online class draws on the tradition of portraiture in art to explore not only the history of the person represented but also that of the artist and the tradition of portraiture within the canon of art.  

The format of the class is that the students are shown a portrait and asked to write down their initial comments, thoughts and questions in relation to the painting.  We then deliver a talk and presentation as a starting point for discussion and analysis.

Contact Open Book for meeting location and passcode at openbook@gold.ac.uk.

Editing

Don’t know when to stop writing or what to keep or change? Students are asked to write a piece of creative work then a second edit (more if you like). We read and discuss the changes and choices made in a supportive group. ‘Killing your babies’, a term coined by Ernest Hemmingway, simply means editing out something you love to make the piece better – not always easy.

The second part of the session is a lecture on anything to do with literature; it could be censorship in writing, posthumous works, individual authors, valuable books or any related subject chosen by the group. No experience necessary.

Contact Open Book for meeting location and passcode at openbook@gold.ac.uk.

Book Club

The Book Club is a fairly informal online gathering.  We meet fortnightly to discuss our most recent book choice. Our book choices are arrived at by rotating through the club members. We chose books that are sometimes controversial, ones we love, have been inspired by, some books have changed club members lives, others are ones we read at school and there are those we would love to read or are curious to read.

Contact Open Book for meeting location and passcode at openbook@gold.ac.uk.